Gender associated differences in determinants of quality of life in patients with COPD: a case series study
2006

Gender Differences in Quality of Life for COPD Patients

Sample size: 146 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Juan P de Torres, Ciro Casanova, Concepción Hernández, Juan Abreu, Angela Montejo de Garcini, Armando Aguirre-Jaime, Bartolome R Celli

Primary Institution: Hospital Nuestra Sra de Candelaria, Tenerife, Spain

Hypothesis

The study aims to explore factors contributing to gender differences in Quality of Life of COPD patients.

Conclusion

There are gender differences in health status scores among COPD patients, with different clinical and physiological variables associated with these scores in men and women.

Supporting Evidence

  • Women had worse scores in all domains of the SGRQ compared to men.
  • SGRQ total scores correlated with various clinical parameters in men and women differently.
  • Dyspnea was a significant predictor of quality of life in both genders.

Takeaway

This study found that women with COPD generally have a worse quality of life than men, and the reasons for this are different for each gender.

Methodology

The study measured various health parameters in 146 COPD patients and used statistical tests to explore gender differences.

Potential Biases

The findings may only apply to patients with cigarette-related COPD and not to those with other causes.

Limitations

The study may not represent the broader COPD population as participants were recruited from a pulmonary clinic.

Participant Demographics

Participants were white Caucasian, with 25% of men and 23% of women still smoking at the time of enrollment.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p = 0.01

Confidence Interval

95% CI

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1477-7525-4-72

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